Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble
Texas Flood

Born in Dallas, Texas in 1954, Stevie Ray Vaughan began to interact with the guitar very early on, following in the footsteps of his older brother Jimmy and imitating blues icons such as Lonnie Mack, Otis Rush, and especially Albert King.

Faced with his younger brother's talent, Jimmy could not help but encourage him, and a little later, in full adolescence, he introduced him to drummer and great composer Doyle Bramhall, who was impressed by him. In high school, Stevie listened to Jimi Hendrix and was, in turn, electrified: after school, he would rush home to practice before heading to his evening job at a fast-food restaurant as a dishwasher. It is said that his first band, in his teenage years, was called Blackbirds. Unsatisfied and determined to follow the Hendrixian lesson, he did not hesitate to accept his older brother's offer to move to Austin, where interest in the blues was more vibrant.

It was a wise choice: here, Stevie earned a living playing in various venues and, at just eighteen, met his great idol Albert King (who three years later, during a performance, invited him to join on stage and play with him for almost the entire concert). In the '70s, the artistic lives of the two brothers took different paths: Jimmy achieved fair success with his Fabulous Thunderbirds, while «Little Stevie» (a nickname given to him in the scene to distinguish him from his elder brother) became a well-known bluesman in the local scene, an authentic underground hero known for scorching live performances. His colleagues and casual spectators were enchanted by him. To the audience, it seemed like Hendrix was back from the dead.

After his experience with the Nightcrawlers and Paul Ray & The Cobras, Stevie Ray formed the Triple Threat Revue with singer Lou Ann Burton. The artistic collaboration with the singer became Double Trouble (from the title of a famous track by Otis Rush), but by the end of the decade, the singer opted for a solo career. Stevie's idea was to keep the name Double Trouble for the duo formed by Tommy Shannon (bass) and Chris Layton (drums), whom he joined permanently in the early '80s: thus, with the classic blues trio formula was born the STEVIE RAY VAUGHAN & DOUBLE TROUBLE band. The real opportunity to get noticed came in 1982 with an invitation to play at the Montreux Jazz Festival. The one who mentioned his name to the event's organizer was the well-known Mick Jagger: the trio played brilliantly, living up to the Rolling Stones singer's praise.

Stevie began to make appearances on albums by well-known artists: the following year, he was collaborating with Johnny Copeland (on “Texas Twister”) and Marcia Ball (on “Soulful Dress”). Present at that concert, another esteemed artist, David Bowie, invited him to record all the guitar parts for the new album of the «White Duke»: the very successful “Let’s Dance” (the best-selling album in the long career of the former glam-rock star («Ziggy Stardust»). It was a great opportunity, but it wasn't yet the decisive breakthrough, even though it wouldn't take long to arrive. After listening to the demo recorded in the studio provided to Stevie Ray by another respected name like Jackson Browne, also present at Montreux, the famous John Hammond Sr. decided to produce the trio: busy with the massive “Let’s Dance Tour”, Stevie left the Bowie-led entourage, joined his two friends to sign a contract with Epic Records, and recorded the first album.

While sampling and synthesizers were starting to dominate pop music, "Texas Flood" (1983) is an album that rightfully enters the blues-rock legend (electric blues): Vaughan's class is crystal clear. Not surprisingly, the most notable American magazine of the genre awarded Stevie Ray three Oscars that year as «best new talent», «best album», and «best electric blues guitarist» (the latter award he would win every year until 1991). The more spiritual side of modern music, which is precisely what the blues is, has a new, indisputable guitar-hero. From his recording debut onwards, SRV immediately demonstrated that he could perpetuate the dictates of an entire past tradition (and not what today is rampant without transfiguring the sense and originality of (true) Rhythm ‘n’ Blues which is with the diminutive R’n’B: that is something else entirely): absolute testimonies are the title track “Texas Flood”, “Mary Had A Little Lamb”, and the wonderful instrumental “Testify” which closes the album.

This work is a must in its genre and it would be pointless to go on further: highly recommended to everyone. A little curiosity: the seemingly brighter tone of tracks like “Love Struck Baby” and, especially, “Pride And Joy” was due to the use of a Stratocaster that Stevie Ray called “Red” because of the deep red paint finish by Fender.

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